Eric Benhamou Biography

Eric Benhamou's professional and personal accomplishments center on the creation and intelligent deployment of information technology towards improving the performance of businesses and non-profits and the quality of life of individuals around the world.

Eric Benhamou is Chairman and CEO of Benhamou Global Ventures, LLC, which was started in 2003. The company invests and plays an active role in innovative high tech firms throughout the world. Mr. Benhamou is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of 3Com Corporation. He is an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at INSEAD. He is also a visiting professor at Ben Gurion University. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Palm, Inc. from 1999 until 2007 and Chief Executive Officer of Palm, Inc. from 2001 until 2003. Benhamou served as Chief Executive Officer of 3Com Corporation from 1990 until 2000.

In 1981, Mr. Benhamou co-founded Bridge Communications early networking pioneer, and was vice president of engineering until its merger with 3Com in 1987. Before joining Bridge Communications, he worked four years at Zilog, Inc., serving as project manager, software engineering manager and design engineer.

In 2003, Mr. Benhamou was pointed to the Joint High Level Advisory Panel of the U.S.- Israel Science and Technology Commission by U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans. In 1997, former President Bill Clinton appointed Mr. Benhamou to the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, which advises the President on research and development focal points of federal programs to maintain United States leadership in advanced computing and communications technologies and their applications.

In 2007, Mr. Benhamou was awarded the David Packard Civic Entrepreneur Award presented by Joint Venture Silicon Valley. The Packard Award is presented annually to a person who brings an entrepreneurial, cross boundaries, problem solving approach to Silicon Valley's challenges. In 1998, Mr. Benhamou was recognized by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the Foreign Investor Jubilee Award. That same year, Benhamou received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which pays homage to the immigrant experience, as well as individual achievement to U.S. citizens from various ethnic backgrounds. In 1998, he became a Fellow of the International Engineering Consortium. He is a graduate of the American Leadership Forum, which seeks to revitalize leadership within communities across the nation. In 1997, Benhamou received the Medaille Nessim Habif from Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Arts et Metiers, Paris. In 1992, he received the President's Environment and Conservation Challenge Award, the United States' highest environmental award.

Mr. Benhamou currently serves as Chairman of the board of Cypress Semiconductor and as a member of the Board of Directors of RealNetworks, Inc and of Silicon Valley Bancshares. He serves on the board of directors of privately held companies, Atrica, WisdomArk, Finjan and GO Networks, a subsidiary of Nextwave. He serves on the Venture Capital Advisory Board of 3i. He serves on the board of the New America Foundation, a Washington DC-based think tank. Mr. Benhamou serves on the executive committee of TechNet. He also serves on the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB), and as a member of the board of Smart Valley. In addition, he serves on the boards of the INSEAD School of Business, the Stanford University School of Engineering and Ben Gurion University of the Negev. He is the Chairman of the Israel Venture Network, a venture philanthropy organization for a stronger Israeli society.

Mr. Benhamou, 52, holds honorary doctoral degrees from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Widener University, Western Governors University and the University of South Carolina. He has a Master of Science degree from Stanford University's School of Engineering and a Diplome d'Ingenieur from Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Arts et Metiers, Paris.

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